- Before we can discuss the forms of songs,…we need to have an understanding…of the parts of songs.…A lot of the confusion that arises when discussing…song form comes from the terminology.…I've been writing songs for 20 years…and I still get disoriented at times…during writing sessions.…Terms like breaks and drops are becoming…just as prevalent as verses and choruses.…The words we use to discuss songs…are evolving right alongside popular music.…That said, there is a core terminology used…when talking about the parts of a song,…and that's what I'm going to describe right now,…the proper use of the terms.…

Let's take a look at some of the most common…components or parts of songs.…I'll also discuss some of the history of each component…in addition to their function.…I won't be playing you any examples right now…so that we can focus on the lexicon.…But do check out the songs I reference throughout,…as they'll help you better identify…these common parts of song form.…

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Released

9/18/2015

Music theory is fundamental to making and playing music. However, no one has taught it in such a user-friendly and songwriting-focused way as we do here, using both keyboard and guitar to demonstrate the techniques.

Professional musician Julian Velard starts the course with the building blocks of harmony: notes, scales, intervals, chords, inversions, and basic chord progressions. He then goes into voice leading—showing how to move from one chord to another by changing just one or two notes—and reviews common song forms, from the familiar verse/chorus/verse of pop to the simple verse of the blues. At the end of each chapter, Julian explains the songwriting techniques shown in the chapter within the context of his own original commercially released songs.